P’kula cops arrest 2 suspects of recent robberies in an encounter

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, August 25 

The Panchkula police today arrested two ‘most wanted’ criminals, primarily said to be involved in two recent robberies and recovered 140 live cartridges and six pistols from them after an encounter held at Nada Sahib here today. 

The police claim that the accused, identified as Haneesh Thakur and Gobind, who are suspected to be involved in the recent cashier’s murder and robbery and the petrol pump owner robbery, were planning to loot a cash van and flee in a Renault Scala car (bearing Punjab number) when they opened fire at the police team. The police team had been tipped off about the accused when they started tracking them. The investigations revealed that the two had planned the murder of the Jail Superintendent also. While Haneesh is a resident of Punjab and Gobind is from Rajasthan. 

Commissioner of Police OP Singh said that with the arrests of the two youths who are murder convicts in the sensational Bobby murder case, major crime cases of the city would be solved. “These pistols are worth lakhs and the number of rounds that were fired on Anil, the cashier, showed that the robbers had it in abundance. We suspect the involvement of these youths in the robbery cases of Panchkula. Also one of the eye witness in the cashier’s robbery had identified Gobind.” Deputy Commissioner of Police Anil Dhawan said the team of crime investigating agency (CIA) got to know that the youths were going to loot a cash van. When intercepted, one of them opened fire at the police and the latter in a counter attack also fired in the air. But they were surrounded and nabbed,”, he added.The police recovered one country made pistol 3.15 bore, two pistols of .32 bore, two pistols .25 mm, one revolver .32 bore along with 140 live cartridges and two empty shells.

Lavish lifestyle, similar modus operandi raised  suspicion 

A pair of shoes worth over Rs 20, 000 and a lavish lifetsyle, Identification by deaf and dumb eye witness, mobile phones switched off during the cashier’s murder and robbery incident and locations near the same spot in the last seven days strengthened the suspicions of the police about Govind and Haneesh’s involvement in the robbery cases. Commissioner of Police, OP Singh said in the 9.80 lakh robbery where petrol pump owner Raj Kumar was looted in Sector 8 on March 30 this year, the car used in the crime was looted from Punjab and the vehicle owner’s mobile phone was mistakenly left in the same. The location of owner’s mobile was in Sector 8, where house of one of the accused, Haneesh is located. Similarly, in the 9.22 lakh robbery, where cashier Anil was shot dead and robbed, the mobile phones of the two accused were switched off during the time of the incident. In the last seven days, their location was near the robbery spot. 

Profile of the accused

Haneesh Thakur (29) 

He is known as Chote Baba in Punjab among his gang members. Haneesh was arrested in a murder case in Punjab but he fled. He is wanted in a Meerut robbery case where he had robbed a jeweller’s shop. Thakur is involved in several robbery cases in Punjab and Haryana.

Gobind (34) 

A member of Nishan Gang, had killed his fellow gangster Bobby in the court in Ambala during the latter’s evidence. He was awarded 20 years imprisonment in the case but he fled. In another case of attempt to murder in Chandigarh, he was awarded seven years jail, but was out on parole stating that his mother was unwell.